Promoted but no bonus increase: why it happens, from someone who worked in reward

You were promoted. Your rating was high. And your bonus did not go up, or barely moved. How is that possible?

It happened to me

I got promoted, and received zero bonus increase. I had a high rating, but it did not matter.

The salary increase took me to the bottom of the next band: standard practice, nothing exceptional. The following year, there was no bonus increase at all. It was not a good year and the pool was down.

People with poor ratings got more than I did, because last year's bonus level was the baseline, and my baseline was that of a lower title.

I was in HR, so I understood exactly how the number had been arrived at, and understanding it did not make it sit any better.

That was 2022, and it was the beginning of me questioning whether the corporate path was the right one.

How the mechanism works

In the systems I worked in, a few things drive the number, and none of them is how good your year felt:

• The pool. One allocation, and in a bad year for the firm it shrinks, however good your own year was.
• The baseline. Bonuses are often anchored to last year's bonus, so a recent promotion can leave you anchored to the old level.
• The band. A promotion usually lands you at the bottom of the new range, not the middle.
• The case. How well your manager makes the case for you against the other managers.

You cannot change the pool or the band. You can change the case.

What to do

1. Ask your manager, before the cycle, how the number will be set: the pool, where you sit in the band, and what would move it.
2. Keep a monthly record of results, so the case for you is specific and ready.
3. Decide what you will do if the answer is the same next year. Write it down now, while you are calm.

Your next step

The Optionality Vault keeps your record month by month and drafts your self-review before your review month, so the case is ready when the cycle starts. CHF 99 a year, with a full refund in the first 30 days.

If you are weighing whether to stay after a disappointing number, The Next Move is where I help one to one.